


The Best Plans

by mikeymagee



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Adoption, Father-Son Relationship, Master & Padawan Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-05-08
Packaged: 2018-03-29 10:23:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3892825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikeymagee/pseuds/mikeymagee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kanan found Ezra as a child on Lothal. He had simply planned to find a new home for the baby. But...the best plans often go astray. AU. Pure fluff (because with all of the death speculation going on for season 2 of Rebels, I think we could all use it.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

“Run,” she told him. 

And he did. He never stopped. He ran to the farthest reaches of the galaxy, found a whole in the wall planet called Lothal…and now here he was, tending tables at some joint whose name he couldn’t pronounce.

“Kanan, can I get a refill?” 

Kanan sighed. It had been like this in the bar all damn day. Customers of every species, and creed had come through his bar doors, looking to get drunk and gamble. He didn’t know if he was more pissed about the all the vices, or about the fact that he couldn’t join ‘em.

“Yeah,” Kanan said, “Hold on.” Kanan grabbed his rag, and flung it over his shoulder. Lothal was an interesting place…of course, that was a pretty big lie. Lothal was terrible, there tornadoes that wrecked everything in their path, decent food was difficult to come by, and the Empire was swarming over this planet like flies on rotting fruit. Every day it was the same thing. People came in to try their hand at winning some credits the Empire stole from them, or trying to drink to forget about it all. 

Kanan grabbed a pitcher, filled his customer’s glass and then sat it down next to him.

“Here, help yourself.” 

Kanan scratched his chin, and scrubbed his eyes, as if trying to wash away his disappointment. This wasn’t supposed to be how things ended. He wasn’t supposed to hide away in some armpit bar, hiding for his life on some planet. He needed to be somewhere…do something greater. Isn’t that was his master had taught him?

And then he remembered…

“Shit.”

She was gone. 

He rubbed his eyes again, washing her memory from his eyelids. Not now. Not now. 

“Hey,” Kanan called to no one in particular, “I’m going on my break.” He ripped his towel from his shoulder, and stormed out.

“I’ve gotta get some air.” 

He ran out into the dusty roads of Lothal, night had fallen over them, and the Empire’s troops were walking around as if they owned the whole damn planet.

Damn the Empire, Kanan thought.

Lothal was in bad enough shape without those leeches sucking it dry even more. There were families who couldn’t even get themselves something to eat because the Empire taxed the credits right out of their pockets. 

And sometimes, when the parents couldn’t afford to keep their children…they had to let them go. Sometimes, they were left abandoned out on the streets, other times…it was far far worse.  
Kanan shook his head free of those thoughts. No, he couldn’t think about that. He kicked the dirt into the air, and turned back to his bar. They were probably getting restless in there, and just as he heel-turned to make his way back…he halted.

The Force….pulling against his mind like a string tied to a balloon, keeping it from wandering too far. 

“Shit, what now?” he asked.

Kanan could feel a presence, right next to his bar, tucked away behind the trash and half-eaten meals. He rolled his eyes. He didn’t have time for this, and he certainly didn’t want the constant reminders of The Force filling his head. No. He should just ignore it. Return to the bar and get on with his damn work. 

But he didn’t do that.

No, he followed his instincts and trusted in the force. Just as his master had instructed him to. There amongst the old garbage, wrapped in a ripped cloth, there was a child. 

A baby. A baby with blue hair, and chubby arms that reached towards the sky, as if trying to grab something. 

“Hello there youngling,” Kanan whispered. 

This was common. Sometimes on Lothal, parents would leave their newborns out in places like these, hoping someone would be able to take care of them. Sometimes, the kids hit it lucky and got taken in.  
Most of the times…they never survived. 

Kanan held the child closer. Is this what The Force wanted him to find? But why? Granted, Kanan wasn’t averse to helping those in need, but that usually just meant giving a free drink to a guy who had lost his credits on a bad hand. Not…this. What the hell did The Force expect him to do? Babysit this kid?

He shook his head. Kanan wasn’t mean to be a parent. No, he was the furthest thing from that. He was a beer drinking, bar fighting, deserter. He had left the Jedi order after the Empire’s massacre. He didn’t have a choice.

“No. No. No.” He wrapped his hands around the baby’s hair. It cooed and blinked as if Kanan was the first thing it laid eyes on. It smiled.

“Hey, don’t get used to this mug kid,” Kanan said, pointing a finger to his own face, “Because this is the last time you will see it.”

He bundled the kid closer to keep it warm, and walked off. He couldn’t very well go back into the bar, those noisy drunks would probably use this kid for their gambling. Besides, a bar was no place for a baby. A six-year-old, sure, but not a baby. 

“Look,” Kanan said to the kid, “I’ll take ya’ home, get ya’ food, and see if I can find someone who can take care of you, alright?”

Kanan nodded his head. Yes, this was a good plan. Soon, this baby will be out of his hair, and out of his life, and no one would be able to say that he didn’t do anything to help. The Force would get off of his back, and he could get on with life. 

Yes…that’s exactly what would happen.


	2. Chapter 2

The worst thing about having a kid in Kanan’s place…was the fact that it was so small, and Ezra (that named seem to fit, Kanan thought) was so damn curious about everything. One moment, Kanan was working on getting his little guest a meal, and the next he was hunting around his own home trying to locate the kid. 

Ezra put everything in his mouth. Everything. Kanan once caught him gnawing on one of his bar rags. This time, however, Ezra had found Kanan’s old bar boots.

“Kid…No.” Kanan said as he gently pulled the old shoe out of Ezra’s mouth. “You don’t want to eat that.” 

Though, it could have been worse. Before Ezra, Kanan’s place was filled with…less than stellar equipment. Guns from his old shipping raids. Knifes he had won in card games, and blasters he had confiscated and never got around to returning. All thrown across the floor like so much unwanted crap. 

As soon as Kanan got Ezra home, the first thing he did was take everything, the knives, blasters, the weapons, and hide them away in one of his underground storage unites. He locked it and breathed a little easier. The last thing he wanted was for Ezra to gnaw on a blaster. 

“Okay little guy,” Kanan scooped the kid up and gently placed him on the couch. “Stay here,” Kanan said. He wagged his finger and repeated his words once more. “Stay. Here.”  
Ezra only babbled happily at the sight of Kanan’s chin. Sometimes, when Kanan leaned too far in, Ezra would grab at his goatee and smile. 

Kanan turned to the kitchen, grabbed the bowl of crushed May Fruit, and returned to the couch. He sat the bowl down, and placed little Ezra on his knee. 

“Okay,” Kanan said as he grabbed the spoon, “Open up for the space ship.”

Ezra only moved away, and reached back to the old boot that Kanan had taken from him earlier. 

“No,” Kanan said. “You don’t want that. It smells like feet, and Force knows what’s still under it.”

But Ezra reached again, and his face began to puff.

“No.” Kanan inched the spoon to Ezra’s face, “Come on, this is nice and healthy, come on, give it a try.”

But Ezra was having none of it. He pushed the spoon away, and reached for the old boot. Even though it was two feet from him, far out of his tiny reach, he still wanted it.

Kanan rolled his eyes (and his entire head with it), “Come on kid! Must you make my life harder?” He moved the bowl aside, stood, and grabbed the shoelaces of his old boot. He raised them to eye level, they smelled of old Lothan liquor. 

He opened his back door, and threw the old boot outside. He turned back to Ezra and smiled, “There, no more smelly, old boots.” 

Kanan sat back down, picked up the spoon again, and inched towards Ezra’s mouth. “Now, be a good boy and let the space ship dock.” 

But Ezra never opened his mouth. 

Perhaps he needed a demonstration on how good the food was? Hell, Kanan couldn’t really blame him. When it came to cooking, Kanan wasn’t exactly renowned. Even at the bar, most customers would pay him not to cook. But it was just smashed May Fruit. It couldn’t be that bad.

“Alright, watch.” Kanan opened his mouth, nice and wide, and gently placed the spoon inside. He closed, sloshed the fruit against his teeth, and swallowed. “See?”

He dipped the spoon in his bowl again, and raised it to Ezra’s mouth. “Now you try.”

Ezra looked to the outside, his eyes fixated on the door Kanan had just banished his old boot through.

“No, no, no. Don’t even think about it.” Kanan gently pressed the spoon against Ezra’s lips. “Come on. Just one little bit. One teensy, weensy, little bite for Kanan?” 

Kanan was practically begging. Kanan. A (semi) trained Jedi was groveling to this kid as if it were his master. “Pleeeeaaaase?” The spoon was shaking in Kanan’s hands, the crushed May Fruit jiggled like Jabba the Hut’s belly. Just one bite, Kanan thought. Just one bite and we can move on.

And Ezra…opened his mouth. 

Kanan tried to fight back the smile that was growing on his face. “That’s my boy. Open wide.” Kanan nearly dumped the crushed fruit in the kid’s mouth. But it was in.

“Now chew.”   
Ezra’s little mouth moved around in circles, some of his lunch even spilled to his chin, and onto the couch. But that didn’t matter, he was eating. Kanan dipped the spoon into the May Fruit once again. 

“Alright, just like last time. Open up.” Kanan went for Ezra’s mouth again, but the child placed his hands up, and turned his head. 

Not again.

“What now? I’m not gonna let you eat my boot,” Kanan said as he placed the spoon down.

Ezra reached out his hands, and tried to grab the bowl of mashed fruit that Kanan held.

“What?” Kanan asked.

But Ezra reached for the bowl, he nearly fell off the couch trying to grab it. Kanan flinched, set Ezra back to the center cushion, and gently placed the bowl in front of Ezra.

“Is this what you wanted?” 

Ezra took his tiny hands, and grabbed a handful of his own lunch. It dripped from his fingers, and settled in his palm. With one swift motion, Ezra smashed his tiny and into Kanan’s closed mouth, and the fruit he was holding splattered everywhere. 

Kanan flinched, dropped the spoon, and wiped the fruit from his lips. “Ezra,” he said, “I’m supposed to feed you, not the other way around.” 

But Ezra only smiled as Kanan stood before him. Kanan wiped his lips with his dirty shirt and sighed. 

“I’ll be back. I need to get another spoon.”

Kanan searched his cupboards, and drawers, trying to find a suitable replacement.

And then his stomach growled. He had been so busy getting lunch for Ezra that he had forgotten about what he would have for a meal.

Had Ezra…known? Well…that was impossible. Ezra wasn’t even old enough to talk yet, let alone…

Kanan shook his head, and found another spoon. “This should do nicely.”

He turned back to Ezra who was sitting happily on the couch, as if nothing had happened at all. 

“Alright, let’s try this again.”

**Author's Note:**

> Someone on Tumblr requested a Kanan and lil!Ezra fanfics, and that was too cute for me not to do. So, here they are. Jus Kanan and Ezra.


End file.
